Anti-litter peanut sales bag

ABSTRACT

A suitable paper bag for containing peanuts, or other marketable items usually shelled, peeled, stripped or unwrapped by the purchaser or other consumer during the process of consuming, with an attached collapsible hull-receptacle-compartment in which the peanut hulls and/or other waste material may be deposited by the purchaser, or other consumer, which is accomplished by severing with finger a quarter-inch wide strip of paper which is fastened across the bottom of the hull-receptacle-compartment and appropriately attached to the adjacent bottom of the main compartment of the bag by the manufacturer to maintain the folded position of the receptacle-compartment against one side of the main compartment for containing peanuts or other items, and unfolding by inserting fingers in the top opening and pushing sides and bottom in place. The bag also has a pivotal-loop-handle for carrying it on finger while shelling the peanuts, or other items, the shaft of which is firmly attached to the top mid-area of the center dividing wall of the bag to afford easy rotation and accessibility of the appropriate compartment during the process. Said handle is made of pliable material and can be easily flexed downward against the inner wall to which attached when not in use.

United States Patent Rich [ 51 Sept. 26, 1972 [54] ANTI-LITTER PEANUTSALES BAG [72] Inventor: Archie G. Rich, 2350 Venetian Drive, S.W.,Atlanta, Ga. 30311 [22] Filed: Dec.3l, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 103,032

[52] US. Cl. ..229/56, 229/52 AL, 16/126, 206/47 R [51] Int. Cl ..B6Sd31/12, B65d 25/28 [58] Field of Search ..229/56, 54, 58, 52 A; 206/47 R,57 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 466,723 1/1892 Lorenz..229/56 2,179,037 11/1939 Goldschmidt ..229/52 AL 2,280,601 4/1942Otter ..229/56 2,654,527 10/1953 Geckler et al. ..,.229/56 3,339,8249/1967 Luke ..229/56 3,363,826 1/1968 Behler ..229/54 R FOREIGN PATENTSOR APPLICATIONS 211,396 12/1940 Switzerland ..229/52 AL PrimaryExaminerDavis T. Moorhead 5 7] ABSTRACT A suitable paper bag forcontaining peanuts, or other marketable items usually shelled, peeled,stripped or unwrapped by the purchaser or other consumer during theprocess of consuming, with an attached collapsiblehull-receptacle-compartment in which the peanut hulls and/or other wastematerial may be deposited .by

the purchaser, or other consumer, which is accomplished by severing withfinger a quarter-inch wide strip of paper which is fastened across thebottom of the hull-receptacle-compartment and appropriately attached tothe adjacent bottom of the main compartment of the bag by themanufacturer to maintain the folded position ofthereceptacle-compartment against one side of the main compartment forcontaining peanuts or-other items, and unfolding by inserting fingers inthe top opening and pushing sides and bottom in place. The bag also hasa pivotal-loop-handle for carrying it on finger while shelling thepeanuts, or other items, the shaft of which is firmly attached to thetop mid-area of the center dividing wall of the bag to afford easyrotation and accessibility of the appropriate compartment during theprocess. Said handle is made of pliable material and can be easilyflexed downward against the inner wall to which attached when not in 2Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEP 26 I972 SHEET 1 BF 2 'FIGIPATENTEDsrrzs m2 SHEET 2 0F 2 FIG.8

FIGII ANTI-LITTER PEANUT SALES BAG While my present invention relates ingeneral to paper bags having multi-walls or multi-compartmentconstruction, characteristically it is eminently and specificallysuitable for a novel anti-litter peanut sales bag with an attached hullreceptacle and a pivotal-loopcarrying-handle suspended on a headed-shaftwhich is securely fastened to the top area of the center wall,permitting convenient turning and requisite manipulation of the bagwhile unloading during the process of shelling and consuming the peanutsand simultaneously depositing residual hulls in the attached unfoldedreceptacle-compartment.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a practical paperbag for use in the retail sale of peanuts in their original hulls(roasted, boiled or raw) and to afford the purchaser and/or otherconsumers the opportunity of immediately and conveniently consuming thepeanuts from the bag and simultaneously depositing the hulls and chaffin the attached receptacle-compartment, obviating the necessity oflocating other receptacles for the bulls and/or 'the traditionalpractice of litness and state of preparation for a period at leastofseveral days-which will enable the preparation of massive quantities forsales distribution. This will have been accomplished by the manufacturerusing suitable paper sheet material in making the bag sufficientlyimpervious to moister, such as to the specification of Gilman No-Tare,Select 1 SWS of Gilman Paper Company, or of an equal quality.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome readily obvious to one skilled in the art from consideration ofthe following specifications taken in connection with the attacheddrawings consisting of two pages with FIGS. 1 through 1 1:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the anti-litter peanut sales bag, bothcompartments fully open, with the pivotal-loop-carrying-handle inupright position securely fastened to the top area of center division ofthe bag (For the purpose of this view, the'shaft of the handle 25B isshown attached on the outside of the center dividing wall in the area ofthe receptacle-compartment, however, it is actually fastened in thisposition on the other side of the center wall so as to be inside themain compartment which is necessary to maintain a tension balance fromthe weight of the items (peanuts) in the compartment to cause the looseneck portion of the handle-shaft to adhere to the top level of the wallto which attached when in use.)

FIG. 2 is an angle view of the bag with the hull receptacle-compartmentin folded position and the loop-carrying-handle folded downward withinthe bag, presenting ready position for loading.

FIG. 3 is a view of the bag folded in horizontal folds down from the topto the desired level the bag will have been filled with peanuts, alsoshowing the hull-receptacle compartment in a folded and secure positionwhere it remains until the main compartment of the bag is opened by thecustomer recipient who at that time may also open thehull-receptacle-compartment simply by sliding finger underneath andsevering the narrow strip of bag paper 26 fastened across bottom ontothe bottom of main compartment by the manufacturer for the sole purposeof maintaining the hull-receptacle-compartment in folded position untilneeded, and then inserting fingers in the top opening and pushing sidesand bottom in place.

FIG. 4 shows the flat folded position of the bag and attachedhull-receptacle compartment with perspective view of bottom to revealthe fastened paper strip 26 referred to in FIGS. 3 and 11. One end ofthe strip will be glued to the distal side 19 of thehull-receptaclecompartment at mid-bottom and when the receptacle iscollapsed in the folded position, the other end of the strip will beglued to the adjacent bottom of the main compartment but not to extendfurther across than the folding line 16.

FIG. 5 reveals the three separate component parts of thepivotal-loop-handle and also the assembled handle.

. -FIG. 6 is a view'of the single sheet of waxed paper out of which theheaded-shaft is made and onwhich the loop-handle is loosely mounted toafford revolving.

FIG. 7 depicts the first fold of FIG. 6 which affords sufficient bulkfor the head of the shaft when the entire sheet is rolledand manipulatedinto position to form the shaft.

FIG. 8 is the pointed position of the shaft in preparation for unionwith the assembledloop-handle.

' FIG. 9 demonstrates .union of the shaft with the assembledloop-handle.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the assembled carrying-loophandle on the shaftwhich has been partially untwisted from the bottom to form the necessaryflat surface for fastening to the proper wall of the bag. In this viewit will also be noted that the washer-disk to which the loop-handle isattached will come just to the top of the wall 20B, to which the shaftis attached, sufficiently clear to permit revolving as the loop ispulled up on the shaft to carrying position.

FIG. 11 is a broad lateral view of the paper-stripfastener to beattached to the bottom of the bag for the purpose of maintaining'thefolded position of the hullreceptacle-compartment until needed as shownin FIGS. 2 and 4. Referring more specifically to the structure anddesign of the bag,- in FIG. lthe numeral 14A identifies the maincarrying reservoir of the bag and 14B denotes the residue receptacle.Numeral 22B designates the pivotal-loop-handle; 21 marks theheaded-shaft upon which the loop-handle is suspended and 25B representsthe lower portion of the handle-shaft which is spread out flat and gluedto the inside upper area of the center wall 208 (for the purpose ofviewing it in FIG. 1, however, it is shown in reverse on the outside ofwall 20B for reasons stated in FIGS. 1 and 2). Only the lower half ofthe lower portion 258 is glued to the inside of the dividing wall 203 soas to permit a folding linefor turning the handle downward sufficientlyto facilitate folding the walls in at least two horizontal foldsdownward to close the bag.

Also in FIG. 1 it will be observed that the shape of the bag andattached receptacle-compartment is rectangular, essentially the same asconventional paper bags. The wise side 19 of the receptacle-compartmentis one-third lower than the parallel side 20B of the main compartmentwith the two end walls 13A and 13B secondly, the receptacle need not bethe full size of the.

main compartment 14A to provide adequate space for the total amount ofresidual hulls that will accumulate from a normal capacity serving ofpeanuts in the main compartment. Also the desired gravity tensionrealized from the main compartment, when filled to desired level, tocause the carrying-handle-shaft to pull and adhere closely to the centerwall to which attached when in a carrying position and will initiallytilt the top aperture of the hull-receptacle compartment to an angleapproximately fifteen or twenty degrees which favors the obliqueposition.

To depict the full usage of the bag for its intended and specificpurpose'as previously stated," it will be carried by one finger(preferably the fourth or ring finger of the left hand) through thehandle-loop22B while in the open position as shown in FIG. 1 and theother'fingers on the left hand and the entire right hand are free fortaking peanuts (or other similar items requiring shelling, peelingand/or unwrapping) from the bag, shelling and depositing surplus residuein, the hullreceptacle-compartment 14B. During this process theimportance of the pivotal-carrying-handle is realized as it is easy andconvenient to simultaneously turn the bag from one side to the other.For maximum use and convenience it is necessary that the maincompartment 14A of the bag be easily accessible to the right hand (orleft hand if consumer is left-handed) as the need arises for takingpeanuts or other items from the bag. By the same token it is necessarythat the hull-receptacle-compartment be easily accessible andimmediately underneath, the fingers as the peanuts are being shelled toinsure that the hulls and chaff fall into the hull receptacle.

As demonstrated in FIG. 3, the structural qualities and design of thisinvention facilitates its adaptability for ready storage of peanutsprior to retail marketing. As previously stated, the closing of the baginvolves folding downward from the top in horizontal folds to the levelfilled which in this instance will have been sufficient to permit two orthree folds and to lap at least once over the side-foldedhull-receptacle-compartment. In this position the closing can be furthersecured by simply inserting a small clip, similar to a small size metalpaper clip or a pliable paper wrapped aluminum wire type clip, with oneprong over the end-fold as shown by numeral 31 in FIG. 3 and the otherprong over the outside rim of the folded hull-receptacle-compartment.While one clip may be adequate, depending on the amount of-handlingrequired, an additional clip could be inserted 'on the opposite side asindicated by 27 in FIG. 3. Also, in lieu of using the clips, two metalstaplers could be inserted through the folds near each end by anordinary office stapling apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bag is collapsible and easily folded byintucking sides and bottom and as such can be stacked the same asconventional paper bags. The folding lines are designated in FIG. 1 as15, 16A, 16B, 17A 17B and 18, which will have been crossed by themanufacturer.

Referring more specifically to the attached drawings, and initially tothe structure of FIG. 1, while the actual size is not intended to belimited to maximum or minimum, for the purpose of a non-litter peanutsales bag of a capacity for the average individual serving, however, themeasurements for the main compartment are 6 inches tall and four by twoinches for the rectangular sides. Measurements of thehull-receptacle-compartment 14B are the same as for the main compartmentexcept the two end sides are sloping from the adjacent top of the maincompartment downward to a level permitting the long exterior side to betwo-thirds the height of the parallel wall of the main compartment.

Although approximately the same amount of storage space is required forthe hulls as for the whole peanuts prior to being shelled, the sameupper portion of the main compartment of the bag used by foldingdownward for the purpose of closing the main compartment can also bealternately used for closing the hullreceptacle-compartment sufficientuntil properand final disposition is made of the used bag with encloseddebris. In this connection, it was determined that the averageindividual serving of roasted peanuts for retail sale is five ounces perbag or approximately sixty of the jumbo two-pea-hull size which willfill subject bag to about the half-way mark of its capacity, permittingthe upper portion for folding in the process of closing as previouslydescribed.

The manufacturing requirements of this bag, other than for thepivotal-loop-carrying-handle, can be accomplished essentially with thesame conventional machinery used in the production of ordinary singlecompartment paper bags with minimal adjustments to allow for'theattachment of the carrying handle and the joining together of the twocompartments and including the trimming of the three top sides of thehullreceptacle-compartment. As indicated in FIG. 1, the hull-compartment143 can be made initially as a separate entity and glued to the maincompartment which will afford a double wall thickness for the dividingwall, or it can be made as a three-sided-unit with sufficient marginonthe two end sides and an equal upturn from the bottom to permit ahalf-inch corner fold, as shown by numeral 24 in FIG. 1, for attachmentto the main compartment.

As to the specification of paper material for making the bag, the maincompartment should consist of good quality consistent with affordingexcellent preservation and freshness of the roasted peanuts for areasonable period of time at least several days. The paper material forthe bag walls should also be of sufficient texture to insure areasonable amount of endurance to rough handling, bearing in mind thaton occasions the bags will be tossed around considerably such as in theprocess of delivering to individuals in stadiums at sports events. Whilethe hull-receptacle-compartrnent may be made of the same qualitymaterial as the main compartment for convenience in manufacturing, itneed not necessarily be but the bottom portion should be sufficientlyfirm to maintain an open position when unfolded for receiving the hulls.

In FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, a step by step procedural outline in thepreparation of the pivotal-loop-carrying-handle is shown. In FIG. 5 thetwo circular objects designated by numerals 23A and 23B are perforateddisks made of soft cardboard material for the attachment and basesupport of the-loop-handle 22A, forming the completed product designatedby the numeral 22B. The two disks are positioned one on top of the otherand the two tip-ends of the loop portion of the handle 22A are tucked inbetween disks, one end on one side and the other end on the oppositeside and in this position are securely glued simultaneously as the twodisks are glued together. The loop 22A is made from soft waxed paper.The support shaft for the loophandle is also made from a rectangularshape piece of waxed paper shown in FIG. 6 and designated by numeral 32.A one flap horizontal even fold 33 is made across the top of the waxedpaper as shown in FIG. 7 to form sufficient bulk for a shaft-head as theentire piece of paper is rolled and twisted into a suitable symmetricalshaft 27, pointed at the lower end as shown in FIG. 8,,andsmall enoughto pass through the perforated disk of loop-handle 22B. Although thewaxed paper is pliable and easily manipulated, for the purpose of theload initially intended for this invention it is adequately stable andmaintains proper position. A couple of drops of a resinous substance,however, may be applied to the shaft-head 21 to insure a more stableposition. After the shaft has been shaped and completed it is theninserted through the perforated disk of the loop-handle 22B, therebycompleting the assemblage of the carrying-handle as shown in FIG. 9.

The carrying-handle is fastened to the bag by untwisting and spreadingthe lower half of the shaft to a flat surface as shown in FIG. bynumeral 25B and then gluing to top inside wall of the bag adjacent tothe hull receptacle, careful to insure that the support disk of theloop-handle can be free to slide up the shaft to just above the top rimof the wall to which attached as shown in FIG. 10.

Although the unique pivotal-loop-handle is of a design to require it tobe manufactured as a separate unit, intrinscially it is nevertheless anintegral part of this invention in its entirety.

I claim:

1. A bag made of suitable paper, having a rectangular bottom wall withside walls projecting upwardly and terminating in free edges providingan open upper end of same shape and measurements and with a duplicatesubcompartment attached of same size and shape except for the topportions of the distal side-wall and the two end-sides which aretapering from the top-open central wall down to a level two-thirds theheight of the main compartment and thereby corresponding to the heightof the distal side-wall and said sub-compartment can be made initiallyas a separate entity with four walls and bottom and subsequently gluedto the main compartment with back to back position of side-walls ofcorresponding height which will afford a double-wall thickness for thedividing wall or it can be made as a three-sided-unit with sufficientmargin on the two endsides and an equal upturn redundant from the bottomto permit a half-inch corner fold for attachment to the maincompartment, and that this dual compartment bag is particularly suitableand designed as an Antilitter Peanut Sales Bag which is furtheremphasized as follows:

A. having a pliable and flexible pivotal-loop-carrysuming andsimultaneously depositing hulls and/or other extraneous materialinto thecompartment through the oblique aperture;

B. this flexible pivotal-loop-carrying-handle being attached to thedividing wall inside the main compartment is folded downward inside thebag when attached by the manufacturer where it remains until needed forcarrying purpose,

C. and when said handle is implemented for carrying, the washer-basedisk to which the handle-loop is fastened is free to slide up the shaftto a level just above the top rim of the wall to which the shaft issecured so as to avoid interference with the revolving of the entirebag,

D. and also while in this carrying position, the gravity-tension fromthe items occupying the main compartment causes the loose portion of theshaft, to which the handle-loop is suspended, to properly adhere to theside of the wall,

E. and the gravity-tension is sufficient to cause the bottom portion ofthe bag to swing at an angle to the right (if carried on the left hand)and thereby causing the oblique open-top of thehull-receptacle-compartment to hang at an upward angle initially so asto be nearer the hands.

2. The sub-compartment of claim 1, having central folding lines on thetwo end-sides and across the bottom, the same as the main compartment ofclaim 1, is assembled in the folded position by intucking the sides andbottom when manufactured at the same time the main compartment is foldedand is secured in this folded position by a narrow strip of paperfastened across the bottom onto the adjacent bottom of the maincompartment in which position it remains until needed for deposit ofhulls and/or other debris and then can be unfolded by sliding fingerunderneath and severing the narrow strip of paper and then pushing sidesand bottom to an unfolded position by inserting fingers in the topaperture; and also while in the folded position said sub-compartment isavailable for use to help maintain the folded closed position of themain compartment containing peanuts or other items as metalclips,similar to ordinary office paper clips, can be inserted from eachend-side with one prong of the clip over the exterior side fold of thesubcompartment and the other prong of the clip over the top horizontalfold of the adjacent main compartment.

1. A bag made of suitable paper, having a rectangular bottom wall withside walls projecting upwardly and terminating in free edges providingan open upper end of same shape and measurements and with a duplicatesubcompartment attached of same size and shape except for the topportions of the distal side-wall and the two end-sides which aretapering from the top-open central wall down to a level two-thirds theheight of the main compartment and thereby corresponding to the heightof the distal side-wall and said sub-compartment can be made initiallyas a separate entity with four walls and bottom and subsequently gluedto the main compartment with back to back position of side-walls ofcorresponding height which will afford a double-wall thickness for thedividing wall or it can be made as a three-sided-unit with sufficientmargin on the two end-sides and an equal upturn redundant from thebottom to permit a half-inch corner fold for attachment to the maincompartment, and that this dual compartment bag is particularly suitableand designed as an Antilitter Peanut Sales Bag which is furtheremphasized as follows: A. having a pliable and flexiblepivotal-loop-carrying-handle suspended on a headed-shaft of which thelower portion of the shaft is spread out and securely attached to themid-top area of the center dividing wall of the bag which enablesconvenient carrying of the bag while in an open position and the turningfrom side to side without changing carrying position on the finger andhand involved which permits and facilitates continuity of the usage ofboth hands necessarily required in the process of taking peanuts, and/orother items requiring shelling, peeling or unwrapping, from the maincompartment of the bag, shelling and consuming and simultaneouslydepositing hulls and/or other extraneous material into the compartmentthrough the oblique aperture; B. this flexiblepivotal-loop-carrying-handle being attached to the dividing wall insidethe main compartment is folded downward inside the bag when attached bythe manufacturer where it remains until needed for carrying purpose, C.and when said handle is implemented for carrying, the washerbase disk towhich the handle-loop is fastened is free to slide up the shaft to alevel just above the top rim of the wall to which the shaft is securedso as to avoid interference with the revolving of the entire bag, D. andalso while in this carrying position, the gravity-tension from the itemsoccupying the main compartment causes the loose portion Of the shaft, towhich the handle-loop is suspended, to properly adhere to the side ofthe wall, E. and the gravity-tension is sufficient to cause the bottomportion of the bag to swing at an angle to the right (if carried on theleft hand) and thereby causing the oblique opentop of thehull-receptacle-compartment to hang at an upward angle initially so asto be nearer the hands.
 2. The sub-compartment of claim 1, havingcentral folding lines on the two end-sides and across the bottom, thesame as the main compartment of claim 1, is assembled in the foldedposition by intucking the sides and bottom when manufactured at the sametime the main compartment is folded and is secured in this foldedposition by a narrow strip of paper fastened across the bottom onto theadjacent bottom of the main compartment in which position it remainsuntil needed for deposit of hulls and/or other debris and then can beunfolded by sliding finger underneath and severing the narrow strip ofpaper and then pushing sides and bottom to an unfolded position byinserting fingers in the top aperture; and also while in the foldedposition said sub-compartment is available for use to help maintain thefolded closed position of the main compartment containing peanuts orother items as metal clips, similar to ordinary office paper clips, canbe inserted from each end-side with one prong of the clip over theexterior side fold of the sub-compartment and the other prong of theclip over the top horizontal fold of the adjacent main compartment.